German-American illustrator Joseph Christian Leyendecker (1874-1951) was one of the most prominent and financially successful freelance commercial artists in the U.S.
He was active between 1895 and 1951 producing drawings and paintings for hundreds of posters, books, advertisements, and magazine covers and stories.
He is best known for his 80 covers for Collier's Weekly, 322 covers for The Saturday Evening Post, and advertising illustrations for B. Kuppenheimer men's clothing and Arrow brand shirts and detachable collars.
He was one of the few known reportedly gay artists working in the early-twentieth century U.S.
Career
J. C. Leyendecker had a long career that extended from the mid-1890s until his death in 1951.
During that time he worked for a wide range of commercial, editorial and government clients.
Before 1902: Chicago and Paris
As a staff artist at J. Manz and Company J. C. Leyendecker produced 60 Bible illustrations for the Powers Brothers Company, cover and interior illustrations for The Interior magazine, and frontispiece art for The Inland Printer.
He also produced artwork for posters and book covers for the Chicago publisher E. A. Weeks.
He also provided artwork for a range of marketing materials for the Chicago men's clothier Hart, Schaffner and Marx.
While in Paris, J. C. Leyendecker continued providing art to Hart, Schaffner and Marx, produced artwork for 12 covers of The Inland Printer, and won a contest (out of 700 entries) for the poster and cover of the midsummer 1896 issue of The Century Magazine, which garnered national newspaper and magazine coverage.
Upon his return from Paris in June 1897, Leyendecker illustrated for a range of mostly local clients including Hart, Schaffner and Marx, the Chicago department store Carson, Pirie and Scott, the Eastern Illinois Railroad, the Northern Pacific Railroad, Woman's Home Companion magazine, the stone cutter's trade journal Stone, Carter's monthly, the bird hobbyist magazine The Osprey, and books including Conan Doyle's Micah Clarke and Octave Thanet's A Book of True Lovers.
He also painted 132 scenes of America for L. W. Yaggy's laptop panorama of Biblical scenes titled Royal Scroll published by Powers, Fowler and Lewis (Chicago).
On May 20, 1899, Leyendecker received his first commission for a cover for The Saturday Evening Post launching a forty-four-year association with the magazine.
Eventually, his work would appear on 322 covers of the magazine, introducing many iconic visual images and traditions including the New Year's Baby, the pudgy red-garbed rendition of Santa Claus, flowers for Mother's Day, and firecrackers on the 4th of July.
During the 1890s, Leyendecker was active in Chicago's arts community.
He exhibited with and attended social events by the Palette and Chisel Club, the Art Students League, and the Chicago Society of Artists.
In December 1895, some of his posters were exhibited at the Siegel, Cooper and Company department store in Chicago.
In January 1898 his posters for covers of The Inland Printer were exhibited at the Kimball Cafetier (Chicago).
During his 1895-97 time studying in Paris, J. C. Leyendecker's work won four awards at the Académie Julian and one of his paintings titled "Portrait of My Brother" was exhibited in the Paris Salon in 1897.
One of his posters for Hart, Schaffner and Marx titled "The Horse Show" was exhibited as part of the award winning display of American manufacturers' posters at the Exposition Universelle (1900) in Paris. | Source: © Wikipedia
Joseph Christian Leyendecker, noto semplicemente come J. C. Leyendecker (1874-1951) è stato un illustratore Tedesco naturalizzato Statunitense.
Tra i maggiori artisti commerciali della sua generazione, Leyendecker è noto soprattutto per aver disegnato oltre quattrocento copertine delle principali riviste statunitensi tra la fine del XIX secolo e la metà del XX secolo.
J. C. Leyendecker nacque a Montabaeur nel 1874, primogenito di Peter ed Elizabeth Ortseifen Leyendecker; suo fratello minore Francis Xavier sarebbe diventato, a sua volta, un artista.
Nel 1882 la famiglia si trasferì a Chicago, dove il fratello di Elizabeth era vicepresidente della McAvoy Brewing Company.
Già da adolescente Leyendecker cominciò a lavorare per la ditta di incisioni J. Manz and Company e la sua prima commissione fu di creare 60 illustrazioni di soggetto biblico per la Powers Brothers Company; successivamente studiò al Art Institute of Chicago ed all'Académie Julian a Parigi insieme al fratello.
Nel 1897 i fratelli Leyendecker tornarono negli Stati Uniti e due anni più tardi J. C. ricevette la sua prima commissione: una copertina per il Saturday Evening Post; ciò segnò l'inizio di un sodalizio artistico tra l'illustratore ed il giornale durato 44 anni, durante i quali disegnò 322 copertine.
Nel primo decennio del XX secolo visse a New York, dove cominciò a disegnare illustrazioni pubblicitarie per Interwoven Socks, Hartmarx, B. Kuppenheimer and Co. e Cluett, Peabody and Company.
Fu per Cluett, Peabody and Company che realizzò una delle sue illustrazioni più celebri, The Arrow Collar Man, pubblicità per i colletti Arrow; l'illustrazione divenne modello di eleganza per la moda d'inizio secolo.
Il modello per quell'immagine, e per molte altre illustrazioni, fu Charles Beach, il compagno dell'artista.
Nel 1914 Leyendecker e Beach si trasferirono in una grande casa a New Rochelle, dove l'artista visse per il resto della vita.
Durante la prima guerra mondiale continuò a disegnare immagini pubblicitarie per l'industria della moda ma ideò anche poster propagandistici per l'arruolamento.
Gli anni venti portarono un nuovo boom nel mondo della pubblicità e Leyendecker divenne il più rinomato creatore di arte commerciale negli Stati Uniti.
Con l'avvento della grande depressione e la crisi economica, l'attività di Leyendecker cominciò a diradarsi ed il suo declino fu esacerbato dal pensionamento di George Horace Lorimer, l'editore del Saturday Evening Post che gli aveva commissionato centinaia di progetti; i suoi successori, Wesley Winans Stout e poi Ben Hibbs, negli anni successivi lo usarono sporadicamente e il numero del 2 gennaio 1943 fu l'ultimo con copertina di Leyendecker.
Durante la seconda guerra mondiale realizzò una delle sue ultime commissioni, da parte del Dipartimento della guerra degli Stati Uniti d'America, creando immagini promozionali per i titoli di guerra. | Fonte: © Wikipedia
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